MrSMW

For what and to whom? The Z6ii is not out of date for me. I would not get one myself for video work but for photo, meets ALL my needs. Ideally, I would not mind having 45mp, but 1250 (used Z6ii) vs 4000 (used Z8) euros, err, no. And the Z6ii has slightly better DR, lower noise and better battery life plus is a more compact unit (without additional grip). So maybe you have some reasoning in that you have not explained, but perfectly 'in date' for many users?!

I don’t know. I mean, I really do not know. I am pretty happy with the video side of these. And the stills. I like the ergos, mostly. I don’t like the clunky shutter mechanism. It’s not an issue for video and some stills users are OK with it. I am not. My other issue is the lenses. Great glass, pretty much all of it, but the Lumix zooms are big and heavy and the 1.8’s plasticky and boring. I mostly prefer the Sigma lenses, the primes and the smaller zooms but the issue for me (and I did not work out the issue until I was quite heavily invested) was the lack of the lenses I was looking for; fast ‘my use case/need’ zooms such as: Canon 28-70mm f2 Canon 24-105mm f2.8 Tamron 35-150mm f2/2.8 Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 I can’t justify the cost of switching to Canon as the cost is crazy money. I could make a case for Sony, but I would rather not. Nikon for me is the best all-round option for me right now as the relatively affordable Tamron lenses can be easily adapted with essentially native performing AF plus have great image quality for stills. Arguably they all do if you know what you are doing, ie, capture well, shoot raw and edit/grade at a decent level. Great IBIS in the most recent models such as the Z9, Z8 and now Zf. Great AF and speed. I’d love a Z9 for the use case I intend, but at over 5k, I’ve asked myself whether that is worth it to me and my business and my financial brain says not. I kind of like the Z8, but prefer the Z9 and the fact it’s 1k less does not swing it for me. I can’t make a decision on a Z6iii because it does not yet exist and may not in time for me. So the Z6ii, inc. battery grip, readily available on the used market in ‘like new’ condition at 1600 euros? As I said before, a bit of a no-brainer and the most likely option for me. Happy with the S1H on static duty with the S5ii roaming run & gun on the video side of things with the Zf doing candid stills and most likely, a Z6ii on the shoulder for everything else. 4 bodies is something I hoped to move away from, never mind 4 non-identical bodies…but here I am. There will be one or two detractors who will say, “but you will change it out by the end of the year” and maybe I will, but as long as I turned over €XX,000, that’s cool. Bottom line is I think Nikon are pretty strong right now, especially when you factor in the adapted e Mount options. Possibly slightly less so on a pure video POV, but for hybrid and stills, right up there. But then, none of this stuff is really weak and our skill sets are probably always going to be our weakest element.

Come on Nikon, get yer finger out! My Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 G2 finally turned up and it's about the size & weight I expected, ie, slightly smaller & lighter than my Lumix 70-200mm f4...which is good. It 'kinda' works on my Zf body, but I don't think it makes any sense to get a second Zf body to be the platform to bolt this lens to. Still waiting on the Z6iii, but the most likely contender now is actually the Z6ii with a battery grip at 1600 euros used vs the circa 4000 that Z8's are going for and 5000+ that are required for Z9 ownership. With my video needs covered with my S1H and S5ii, I just need a unit that is A. not too big or heavy, but ergonomically good for the Tamron zoom les and B. the photo results more or less match those of the Zf. A used Z6ii is a bit of a no-brainer really and the Z6iii is really going to have to offer something special to be a 'better' option for me, especially factoring in ergos (whether it will need a full battery grip or something from Smallrig) and of course price. If it's over 2.5k euros, I think I'll just go with a used Z6ii.

I could get on board with that. At the moment, we have 3 options principally: 1. Pocket 3 2. Use a gimbal. 3. DJI Ronin all in one thing. Something dedicated between the 2 would be great. OK we could go Route 2 with one of the more compact M4/3 options or even a compact, but the Pocket 3 is still tiny by comparison. I’m still pondering Pocket 3 vs gimbal for this year…

That’s my illusion of YouTube well and truly shattered. Say it isn’t so? Next you will be telling me that Sony ambassadors only say good things about Sony products or they won’t get any future kit to test? Oh well, at least there is still integrity and honesty in politics.

I knew about the ‘Piece Of Shit’…but think it’s a bit better than that…though still would not have one, but how did the Ricoh pass me by? Looks like my kind of thinking!

If I remember correctly, they made a big noise about making this, but then it was quite delayed and when they launched it, barely a peep. Whether it is great or a bit lame, unless you get it out there with the noisy folk on YouTube, it’s dead in the water. He who shouts loudest and all that… Plus it was very expensive. Plus it had a very limited shelf life because tech moves on so fast these days whether we like it, want it, or any other factor. I’d personally like to also see exchangeable internals as in buy your modular shell and rig it out however you wish whether that is not at all (like me) other than perhaps a bit of a grip, or add on frames and screens and rails etc, but a couple of years down the line, be able to either plug & play, or send in for an upgrade. There is a real lack of imagination in the camera world comprising mostly the mildest of evolutions but rarely a revolution.

I think I'd rather see the phone tech in my camera actually... Seriously, - surf the net, make calls (on speaker obvs.) etc. Something like the Sigma FP with its grip options, but a tilt screen, mini desktop tripod, all my iPhone capability. Brilliant. An 'all in one' device has great appeal to me, but at this point in time, it's not a phone and it's certainly not a camera.

Not me. I use my phone all the time as my principal ‘EDC’ as they say, for photo and video, but NOT for anything serious. For me there are 3 principal reasons why not. 1. The form factor. Something phone shaped that slips in and out of your back pocket is in no way ergonomically good to use as a serious tool. 2. I don’t much care for the image. Yes it’s getting better with every iteration and movies have been filmed on the things…but it’s still not quite there yet for me. 3. The tools can be part of the joy and not simply part of the process. I get zero joy from using my phone for photo or video. In that regard, it’s simply a/the most convenient option. 4. Bonus ball. For any serious paid work, if you turned up for a gig and said, “nah mate, I didn’t rent the Arri or any of those cine lenses, because I have this”, and whips out with a flourish, the latest iPhone.

24th year actually, the last 22 of which have been full-time and I’ve tried to get into food/restaurants, property, Motorsport, product…all kinds of stuff and tried various angles including; free, low priced, full price…but no joy, especially if money was involved because of course everyone was happy with free! So over the years I came to the conclusion that for whatever reason, I could somehow make what I do (weddings and events though these days it’s purely destination weddings) very easily, but the above, what I personally call ‘commercial work’, not. I’m long since past trying to figure out why and with just 7 planned years left in my part of the industry, have zero desire (or need) to look at anything else now. If I was a 20 something, or even a 30 something maybe, but at 53, nah, I’ll just stick with what works for me and then at 60, after 30 years at it, not entirely sure what I will do, but plan on working part-time for another 10 years. Maybe National Geographic will want me by then… 🤔🤪

Let’s see how long this post stays up. I have started a countdown…

V-log daytime inc. indoors and only flip to the Flat profile once it’s dark and we are firmly in 6400+ territory. S1H can have forward tracking AF issues but sometimes is pretty OK f4-8, but 4k or 6k, not really noticed much difference, other than crop mode obviously has the best AF. I never walk with these things. It’s gimbal or stand still. I can’t see anything but issues when folks expect and try and use cameras without proper stabilization. I’ve seen so many examples of ‘gimbal like’ and nah, it’s not. Maybe in some instances with mid length lenses and a ton of extra stab (and cropping) in post, but sorry, just not a fan of any of it and it’s all a bit (a lot) square peg, round hole and wishful thinking to me. Action cams and the DJI Pockets etc, fair enough, but ‘proper’ cameras. Gimbal or steady cam it etc IMO. Personal opinion and preference.

I’d like to see any GH7 go modular. Small boxy body, add on various grip options, or rig it etc. Why ‘everything’ has to be black lumps of molded SLR body types, I have no idea. The Sigma FP is a case example of what could be. Camera options are generally pretty boring…

I haven’t found it huge or even that significant, but the output from the S1H is definitely ‘nicer’ and more ha, ‘cinematic’. Has to be the combo of that different sensor and the OLPF. I have been giving it some thought just how I might use my pair this year and had settled on S1H + battery grip + 70-200 on tripod with S5ii + 28-70 on roaming duty, but I’m thinking now I might just pick up a battery grip for the S5ii, take the grip off the S1H and then swap the lenses around so the S1H becomes my run & gun. 6k 30p for the S1H and the S5ii can do 4k 60p for the long static stuff and tracking shots. I could and even perhaps should, use 4k or even 6k 30p for the static stuff, but I’d forget to switch and find that every time I wanted some slo mo, I had no suitable footage, heat of the moment and all that!

Then you assume wrong as I have been making a full-time living from photography and video for over 20 years…just not in the commercial world.

My S1H is better at everything over my S5ii, stills and video, except outright AF capability and size/weight, the latter of which is not an issue to me.

Wrestling with this also… A decade ago, I had 20:20 vision and did not even consider how anything else would impact my work (shooting). These days, I need 2 pairs of specs. Readers for reading and editing plus varifocals for shooting. I can use the EVF but almost exclusively shoot with the rear LCD bouncing between video and stills all day long as I do. Which is a reason why rear LCD’s under 2000 (whatever the units are) are not great for me. Another area where I prefer S1H over S5ii for instance and why most Sony cameras to me are not great. I am looking (no pun intended) at laser this year, but we’ll see (pun intended)…

With extreme wincing back in the day. When I used to live in the UK and shoot church weddings, it was very hit and miss whether you could even get permission to shoot and often it was only by pleading that you would be as stealthy as a mouse. KER LICK KER LICK KER LICK KER LICK And then electronic shutter came along. Shutter button feel is more a personal preference as in I would prefer a damped option but could live without it. Sound is non-negotiable to me these days though. I can’t be invisible and I cannot always be totally silent, but I do practice stealth as much as is practically possible and KER LICK is not part of that equation.

I quite like it and would pair it with an adapted Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 for a compact, sub 700g, 27-75mm FF equivalent EDC/travel set up.

Goes off to check out Nikon Z30…

I’ve got 7 years so might just beat it being ‘above mid market’ 😉

What he ☝️said. Exactly. One is both damped in feel and sound. The other is not and I have not been able to tolerate it as it grates on me. I want tools that are both enjoyable to use and at the same time, get out of the way. For video, it does. For stills, it does not.

Not so much AI, as I can't see how that can in any way take over or have any real impact on what I do (weddings/events) but in other ways, photography and video services are continually evolving and no one is getting any younger...and all these factors do play a part and begin to add up. I've been through a few both personal situations unique to me, plus the global one's that impacted everyone in business (such as the Covid years) and looked at 'other options' several times, but like you, couldn't find anything else I would or in most cases, could be doing. Short of stacking shelves in a supermarket etc... And some things just do not make any sense such as for me, I have never been able to make any form of commercial photography or video work financially. Ever. Despite being surrounded by dozens of peers who can and do. But then I know people who cannot work out why they cannot make photo/video coverage of events work for them... Some stuff is just a bit of a mystery... I came to the conclusion that I was not born to be a wedding/event photographer, but for whatever reason, I am and it works for me where it might not for others and so I'll see out my full-time working career in this industry for the next 7 years. By that time, maybe AI droids will have come into being shooting weddings, but I will be heading for the exit by then so, good luck to the brides and R2Dphoto.

YES, someone else that also gets this! As a 50:50 stills/video shooter myself, only photographers really get just how important shutter sound (and button feel) are when it’s your job. It was awful on the OG S5 and that carried over to the S5ii. I love my S5ii for video but for stills, the S1H is in another league. I could have, and wanted to build a system around 3x S5ii’s, but the shutter sound plus the lack of lenses for my specific needs, has meant I cannot. I genuinely think that Panasonic potentially has the best all round hybrid cameras in the S5ii and the S1H and they just need to merge the two into one for the ‘perfect’ camera, ie, the focus system of the S5ii in the S1H! Actually my ‘perfect’ camera is a mashup of the; S5ii, the S1H and the Sigma FP with Tamron lenses, specifically the 35-150mm f2/2.8 and 70-180mm f2.8 If only, for those lenses, it’s Sony or Nikon bodies only…which is why I have skipped off back to Nikon + Tamron for stills.

Or one of the full frame A7C's for even greater cropping capability? I think if I was starting all over again from scratch with everything, I might go this route... I have avoided these single card slot cameras for pro work for many years, but actually, for my needs, units such as the FX30, A6700, A7Cii and A7CR, paired with some of the more recent compact APSC and FF zooms such as the Sigma 18-55 & 28-70, the Tamron 17-70 & 28-75, make HUGE sense as lightweight, compact options.